Car accidents aren’t just physically painful—they’re also among the most emotionally distressing events that people may experience during their lifetimes. For many crash victims, the psychological injuries they suffer persist long after their physical injuries have healed.
The emotional impact of car accidents can affect victims in many different ways. Victims may develop personality changes, new fears and phobias, and a sudden difficulty with driving or riding in vehicles. These changes can result in significant problems with everyday activities, including running errands, visiting family and friends, and even going to work.
If you’re suffering from emotional distress after a crash, this blog has the information you need to prove it to the insurance company or a jury and get the compensation you deserve.
Proving Emotional Distress Requires Evidence
To prove emotional distress to an insurance company after a car accident, it’s important to collect as much evidence as you can to support your claim. Here are steps you can take to prove the crash has harmed you emotionally and psychologically:
- Seek Medical Treatment: Consult with mental health professionals such as psychologists, psychiatrists, or counselors who can help you cope with and overcome your post-crash emotional distress. During treatment, ask for your medical records documenting your emotional distress, diagnosis, treatment plan, and prescribed medications.
- Document Your Emotional State: Keep a journal describing your emotional state, including symptoms such as anxiety, depression, sleep disturbances, and changes in daily activities. Note how your emotional distress impacts your work, social life, and overall quality of life.
- Get Written Statements from Others: Obtain written statements or reports from your healthcare providers detailing your condition, treatment, and prognosis. Include letters from employers, colleagues, friends, or family members attesting to changes in your behavior, mood, and performance following the crash.
- Loss of Income: It’s common for crash victims who are suffering from injuries and emotional distress to be unable to work for days, weeks, months, or longer. Document any time you were out of work due to the crash and provide proof of lost wages or diminished earning capacity.
- Therapy and Counseling Records: Show records of ongoing therapy or counseling sessions, including dates, frequency, and summaries of sessions. These records can help you prove the existence and severity of the emotional distress you’re experiencing after the crash.
- Prescription Records: Provide documentation of medications prescribed for your emotional distress, including dosages and duration of treatment. Common medications prescribed for people suffering psychologically after crashes include anti-depressants, anxiolytics (anti-anxiety medications), and sleep aids.
How Does Emotional Distress Manifest After a Crash?
Emotional distress after a car accident can touch virtually every facet of a victim’s life, including their home, work, and social lives. Some of the ways it manifests after a crash include:
Psychological Symptoms
- Anxiety: Persistent worry, nervousness, or panic attacks related to the accident or driving.
- Depression: Feelings of sadness, hopelessness, or a lack of interest in activities once enjoyed.
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Flashbacks, nightmares, or severe anxiety about the accident or driving.
- Mood Swings: Sudden and extreme changes in mood, such as irritability or anger.
- Fear and Phobias: Developing a fear of driving, riding in a car, or being on the road.
Physical Symptoms
- Sleep Disturbances: Insomnia, nightmares, or difficulty staying asleep.
- Fatigue: Persistent tiredness or low energy levels.
- Appetite Changes: Loss of appetite or overeating as a coping mechanism.
- Headaches: Frequent or severe headaches triggered by stress.
- Muscle Tension: Physical tension, especially in the neck, shoulders, and back.
Cognitive Symptoms
- Difficulty Concentrating: Trouble focusing on tasks or making decisions.
- Memory Issues: Forgetfulness or difficulty recalling details about the accident or other events.
- Confusion: Feeling mentally disoriented or having trouble thinking clearly.
Behavioral Symptoms
- Social Withdrawal: Avoiding social interactions or activities previously enjoyed.
- Changes in Daily Routine: Impairments in work performance, school attendance, or other daily activities due to emotional distress.
Interpersonal Symptoms
- Relationship Strain: Increased conflicts or distance in relationships with family, friends, or colleagues.
- Communication Issues: Difficulty expressing feelings or talking about the accident and its impact.
What Compensation Is Available for Emotional Distress?
Too often, insurance companies fail to take crash victims’ emotional distress seriously. However, as noted above, the complications of emotional distress after a crash can be all-consuming and highly debilitating to victims.
Fair compensation for emotional distress should include:
- Medical Expenses: Compensation for the costs of therapy or counseling sessions and medication for treating emotional or psychological conditions.
- Lost Wages: Compensation for time taken off work due to healing from injuries and emotional distress, and for loss of earning capacity if the emotional distress impacts the ability to work in the future.
- Pain and Suffering: Compensation for the physical and emotional pain endured due to the accident, including chronic anxiety, depression, PTSD, and other psychological impacts.
- Loss of Enjoyment of Life: Compensation for the loss of enjoyment of daily activities and hobbies that the victim can no longer participate in due to emotional distress.
- Loss of Consortium: Compensation for the impact on personal relationships, such as a strain on a marriage or relationship with family members.
Our Ohio Car Accident Lawyers Can Help Prove Your Emotional Distress
Insurance companies are already reluctant to pay car accident victims the money they deserve—and that includes cases where victims have suffered obvious and severe injuries. And when victims need compensation for injuries that can’t be seen or measured, the challenge increases exponentially.
If you or someone you love is suffering from emotional distress after a crash, you need a firm that understands these complications, knows how to collect evidence to prove them, and has the skills to negotiate a full settlement for you. You need Nurenberg, Paris, Heller & McCarthy.
Contact us anytime for a free consultation. Our Ohio auto accident attorneys know how important compensation is for emotional distress, and we’ll fight to help you get every penny you’re owed for your pain and suffering.
